The War, Afghanistan and Malalai Joya

Malalai Joya is without a doubt a monolith for women to rally behind, a stalwart voice against the corrupting Karzai Government, and a force against the American imperial occupation of Afghanistan that is to be reckoned with.

So why does this concern me?

Malalai Joya is a democratic activist, and proponent for women’s rights. She is a writer and former MP from Afghanistan. In fact, Joya was the youngest person to be elected to the Afghan parliament but in 2007 she was dismissed for publicly denouncing the presence of warlords and war criminals in the Afghan parliament. Since then Joya has been travelling Afghanistan and indeed the world, promoting democracy movements, and protesting for an end to the perpetual war waged by the West in her homeland.

Malalai Joya public meeting in Sydney

Malalai Joya, a peace, democracy, women’s rights and development activist, will be returning to Sydney to address various meetings after having been a guest at the Melbourne Writers Festival at the end of August-early September.

At a time when Afghanistan is more dangerous than ever, and Afghan refugees are still being refused asylum, come and hear this important voice against the ongoing war and occupation of the country.

Malalai Joya will be speaking on several university campuses and at union and community meetings.

Her main public meeting in Sydney will be on Friday September 9, 5.30pm for 6pm at the Marrickville Town Hall (click for map).

Malalai Joya in Australia Sept 5: Afghanistan 10 years on & why western troops must leave

Malalai Joya – the woman Time Magazine listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world - is travelling to Armidale [NSW Australia] to present her talk Afghanistan – 10 years on on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the US and the coalition invasion of Afghanistan. Described as the bravest and most famous woman in Afghanistan she is a writer, feminist and anti-war activist and it is an honour to have the chance to hear her talk after her appearance as a guest speaker at the Melbourne Writer’s festival. Her first visit to Australia was in 2009, when she was promoting her autobiographical book Raising My Voice and she continues to be a voice for her own people and for peace everywhere.

Democracy is never achieved through occupation – Afghan activist

RT has spoken to Malalai Joya, a former Afghan MP and human rights activist, who has been fiercely criticizing the current regime and the occupational force for "throwing Afghans from the frying pan into the fire".

She says her country is suffering from three evils at the moment: overwhelming corruption of the regime, indiscriminate violence of the occupational force and regional warlords whose actions differ little from those of the Taliban.

Tearing Off the Masks of Those Who Hide behind Women’s Skirts: Malalai Joya

“From the sky, Occupation forces are bombing, killing civilians—mostly women and children. On the ground, Taliban and warlords together continue their fascism. If the U.S. and NATO left my country, the backbone of the Taliban and warlords would be broken.” —Malalai Joya

“The Afghan War Logs,” released last summer by WikiLeaks, revealed that the CIA advised using the plight of Afghan women as “pressure points” to rally flagging public support for the US/NATO war on Afghanistan. For that reason, the CIA must have been thrilled when last July Time Magazine featured on its cover the shocking photo of a young Afghan woman with her nose missing, reportedly cut off on Taliban orders. Next to the photo Time posed the question, “What happens to the women of Afghanistan if we leave?”

Malalai Joya Speaks On Behalf of the Secret Heros and Heroines of Afghanistan

Malalai Joya served as a female Parliamentarian in Afghanistan from 2005 until early 2007, when she was dismissed for publicly denouncing the presence of war criminals in the parliament. She recently published a book entitled “A Woman Among Warlords” and came to the United States on a speaking tour.

Connection Point Project Manager Najuan Daadleh met to talk with Malalai at Union Station in Washington DC. Below is what Malalai had to say…

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My name is Malalai Joya and I am a human rights activist. In Afghanistan, democratic minded activists face many challenges, risks, and obstacles. The only difference between me and other Afghan activists is that I have fame. We are all fighting against a puppet mafia regime and against an occupation; we are fighting for justice, peace, democracy, women’s rights, and human rights in our country.

Malalai Joya: A Dirty Game in Afghanistan

Osama bin Laden was the reason given for invading Afghanistan in 2001--but he was found in 2011 in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Afghan people have dealt with ten years of occupation, and Malalai Joya has been speaking out against it for that long.

Whenever Malalai Joya accelerates her struggle and makes headlines in the media, Afghan warlords, their supporters and some pro-US writers come into action to disturb her very clear message for freedom, justice, democracy and women’s rights. For me, this is the biggest sign of her success.

After her extremely successful speaking tour to the USA, and especially giving join presentation against US occupation of Afghanistan alongside Noam Chomsky, once again a number of pro-warlords and pro-occupation individuals wrote against Joya. Almost all of these articles present the same arguments and quote from each other, therefore I stress on the most recent one.

A Woman Among Warlords: Malalai Joya brings message of peace to Surf City

American author Robert Fulgham said, “Peace is not something you wish for. It’s something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.”

Over the last two weeks, Golden West College has hosted national and international speakers involved in the work of peace building. Viewed too often as a passive state, peace is not the absence of conflict or inactivity. Peace is complex, involved work.

And, one should be “all in” because peace building often puts people in harm’s way.

Prior to the annual peace conference on April 15, Golden West College worked with the Los Angeles-based Afghan Women’s Mission to host Malalai Joya on April 8, one of the few women to be elected to the new parliament of Afghanistan. Prior to her rare appearance in Huntington Beach, she spoke at Harvard University, and afterward in Washington D.C.

Speaker Discusses Situation in Afghanistan

She said she believes that her view of the war in Afghanistan is one that the American government does not want the public to know.

By Flora Lethbridge-Cejku, Staff Writer , The Point News, April 19, 2011

Malalai Joya, former member of the Afghan Parliament, speaks to student about the current situation in Afghanistan. (Photo by Katie Henry)

This past Wednesday, Malalai Joya, former member of the Afghan Parliament and an accomplished writer and activist, came to the College to give a talk about the current situation in Afghanistan. Also the author of Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice, Joya was expelled from the Afghan Parliament after she denounced members of the assembly for being “warlords and drug smugglers.”